Saturday

I was reminded of the power of a brand this weekend. It was my girlfriends birthday and all it took was a couple of Tiffany's blue boxes to make her go over the moon.

I could of spent twice as much money at Peoples, Birks or Spence Diamonds but she would have been half as happy.

Even when I was there the Lady helping me out was telling me about how a man was in to purchase his Mom a mothers day present and he asked if they had a different coloured box. Apparently she looked at him and said that the box is just as important as what it contains... so true.

Trying to sell truly original ideas or ideas based on technology, programs or media new to your clients can be nearly impossible. They will ask you for examples about what is the industry average for dollars spent, % of marketing budget, CTR, time-spent, etc...but the problem is that if the idea is unique and original these benchmarks will not exist.

This leaves you in the position to either generalize - take unrelated but through the magic of your bullshit similar campaign results and share them with the client or try to make them trust you, but I will never do this and I don't recommend it either.

Does trust still exist? Our clients depend on us to be successful while their jobs depend on returning results. If they take risks and fail they lose their jobs. As an industry we need to find out how to propose these ideas and convince clients to take risks.

Wednesday

We try to read as many ad books as possible. Some good, some alright but boring and some brutal. It always amazes me how many people in the industry don't read anything - even something as simple as a newspaper.

If you don't read, I'd recommend it. And if you're looking for a place to start in advertising, read "Hey Whipple, Squeeze This" by renowned America copywriter Luke Sullivan. Billed as "A Guide to Creating Great Advertising," Sullivan goes through an in depth analysis on what to think about when creating great ads.

Although it is written for creatives by one of the best creatives, anyone in our industry should read it - if even for the examples and insights.

Filled with quotes from industry legends, the book isn't just a "how to" novel, it's a guide to help understand how create work is made. Oh, and it's hilarious.

One of my favorite references:

"THE SIX PHASES OF AN ADVERTISING PROJECT:"

1. Enthusiasm

2. Disillusionment

3. Panic

4. Search for the guilty

5. Punishment of the innocent

6. Praise and honors for the nonparticipants

I don't know about you, but I'm feeling a little of #2 and a lot of #4 these days!

But seriously, give it a read. It's worth it and it might even make you sound smart in a meeting.

I hate Bill O'Reilly. Hate what he stands for, hate his show and pretty much hate any interview he's ever conducted.

But the one thing that I love about Bill is his new viral video. It's fresh, fun and already going viral with over 250,000 views. I've got to give him credit, he knows a thing or two about viral marketing.

The results are in. Everyone knows that the iPhone is a big success. But Why?

Here are some of the key findings:

iPhone users are very satisfied. The iPhone users we surveyed report very high levels of satisfaction with the product. They are using its features extensively. (Page 12.)

E-mail is the #1 function. The most heavily used data function on the iPhone is reading (but not writing) e-mail. (Page 13.)

The iPhone increases mobile browsing… More than 75% of iPhone users say it has led them to do more mobile browsing. (Page 14.)

…but it has drawbacks. About 40% of iPhone users say the iPhone has trouble displaying some websites they want to visit. (Page 25.)

The iPhone is expanding the smartphone market. About 50% of iPhones replaced conventional mobile phones, 40% replaced smartphones, and 10% replaced nothing. Among conventional phones, Motorola Razr was the phone most often replaced. Among smartphones, Windows Mobile and RIM Blackberry were most often replaced. (Page 19.)

A third of iPhone users carry a second phone. There have been anecdotal reports of iPhone users carrying a second mobile phone, either for basic voice calling, or for other functions like composing e-mail. The survey confirmed those reports. (Page 20.)

A quarter of iPhone users say it’s displacing a notebook computer. 28% of iPhone users surveyed said strongly that they often carry their iPhone instead of a notebook computer. (Page 22.)

Users are young. About half of iPhone users are under age 30 (page 29) and about 15% are students (page 31).

Apple sells to its installed base. At least 75% of US iPhone users are previous Apple customers — they used either iPods or Macintosh computers. (Page 28.)

The iPhone increases phone bills. The iPhone has increased its users’ monthly mobile phone bills by an average of 24%, or $228 extra per year. (Page 17.)

The iPhone leads people to change carriers. Almost half of iPhone users changed carriers when they got the iPhone. (Page 18.)

Tuesday

Description: “Discover $10,000 buried on the Burger King’s Indiana Jones Reveal the Secret at bkindy.com. Every day $10,000 is buried on the site. Enter your code and hit the Dig button. If the money’s there, it’s yours. If no one uncovers it today, then another $10,000 will be added tomorrow.”

The prize started at $10,000 on May 11, 2008 and that amount can be won each day. If no one wins that day, the $10,000 prize is added to the next day’s total.

The site will be giving away $10,000 a day until June 8. What a great promo for the movie and for Burger King.

“Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” opens in movie theaters May 22.

I believe I may have to resign today. Maybe go get a job driving the subway or commuter trains - it always seemed like fun.

Why do I have to quit my job? Because this Playstation ad below has been concieved, created, approved and media dollars spent to share it I have lost all faith in this industry. I just threw up on my laptop.

Maybe a thumb down there is to help you use the whammy bar when playing Guitar Hero.

Here is what I believe the creative team said when presenting:

"Imagine that man has evolved. He now lusts for and wants to play video games more than he wants to have sex. His body follows suit and evolves...growing a third thumb...but not where you would think. A thumb replaces his penis [ad revealed to client]".